2018 PDC Calendar Confirmed

THE PDC are to continue their continental growth near year, with the introduction of a Premier League night in Germany, a European Qualifying School and a European Tour event in Copenhagen being confirmed on the 2018 PDC Calendar.

Another huge year of PDC darts will see the sport's expansion at a professional level continue, particularly with further growth across Europe.

The 2018 Premier League will see the sport's widest-reaching event break new ground with the visit to Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday February 22 as the tournament visits Germany for the first time.

The Premier League will also return to Rotterdam Ahoy for a third successive year, following the sell-out success of the event in the Netherlands in 2016 and 2017, as well as arenas across the UK and Ireland from February to May.

The sport's Dutch popularity sees a second European Tour event being held in the Netherlands, with Zwolle joining Maastricht in staging a tournament next year.

The European Tour will also expand to 13 tournaments, with a new competition being staged in Copenhagen as Denmark hosts a PDC ranking event for the first time.

Eight European Tour events will be held in Germany, with further tournaments being staged in Austria and Gibraltar during the year.

The exciting expansion of darts throughout Europe will also see a European Qualifying School staged in Hildesheim, Germany simultaneously with the UK Qualifying School in Wigan from January 18-21.

Following Qualifying School and the PDC's Annual Awards Dinner at The Dorchester in London on Monday January 22, The Masters will see the world's top 16 players competing from January 26-28 at Arena MK in Milton Keynes.

The Premier League will begin on February 1 in Dublin, with the six UK Open Qualifiers and opening two Players Championship events also being held in February.

March's UK Open Finals at the Butlins Minehead Resort will be followed by two Players Championship weekends and the year's first two European Tour events, in Leverkusen and Munich, during a bumper month for players.

April also features two Players Championship double-headers either side of a brace of European Tour events in Saarbrucken and Graz, with May seeing the European Tour events in Sindelfingen and Zwolle followed by another ProTour weekend.

The Premier League season opens for the first time at the 3Arena in Dublin on February 1, with further league nights following in Cardiff and Newcastle before the tournament makes its German debut on February 22.

The league nights in Exeter, Leeds, Nottingham and Glasgow are followed by Judgement Night in Belfast on March 29, with the event then visiting Liverpool, Sheffield, Rotterdam, Manchester, Birmingham and Aberdeen before the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on May 17.

The 2018 World Cup of Darts will take place from May 31-June 3 in Frankfurt ahead of European Tour events in Gibraltar, Copenhagen and Hamburg during a busy month, with the summer's popular World Matchplay then being held from July 21-29 at Blackpool's Winter Gardens.

The autumn's series of televised events will begin with the third staging of the Champions League of Darts on September 21-22 before Dublin stages the World Grand Prix from September 30-October 6.

The European Championship moves to Dortmund from October 25-28, with the World Series of Darts Finals from November 2-4 and Grand Slam of Darts from November 10-18 in Wolverhampton ahead of the Players Championship Finals from November 23-25 at the Butlins Minehead Resort.

The World Youth Championship final will also be held in Minehead on November 25, ahead of the sport's biggest tournament, the World Championship, beginning in December.

The 2018 Challenge Tour - for PDPA Associate Members who miss out on a Tour Card at Qualifying School - will see five double-header weekends held next year to offer 20 events for players - CLICK HERE FOR UPDATE (confirmed October 21).

The Development Tour, for players aged 16-23, will also see 20 tournaments held across five weekends in the UK and Europe ahead of the season-ending World Youth Championship.

Venues and dates for World Series of Darts events will be confirmed in due course.

Ticket information for all events will be posted at www.pdc.tv/tickets once finalised.

Tickets for the 2018 Premier League are likely to go on sale in September or October 2017 and fans are advised to check www.pdc.tv/tickets on a regular basis.

Tickets for European Tour events, the PDC World Cup of Darts and European Championship will be sold through PDC Europe via www.pdc-europe.tv.

Details of the 2018 PDC Qualifying School will be confirmed in due course at www.pdc.tv.